Letter: Impressed by format of McHenry’s town hall

I attended Congressman McHenry’s town hall meeting in Swannanoa, and was pleasantly surprised that Mr. McHenry conducts a “real” town hall meeting – folks can voice their questions and opinions from the floor, without previous screening from official staff. Town hall meetings are so controlled now, written questions submitted in advance to a congressman’s staff. The “give and take” between a congressman and his or her constituents is lost.

I was grateful to voice my opinion: that the federal government can successfully manage health care. The Asheville VA Medical Center is one of the best in the country, and is managed as a “single payer” system. The government pays the bills.

Mr. McHenry is against single payer, but at least I was given the chance to express my opinion. It kind of felt like “democracy.”